They Flock in Twos
by RK the Hidden
Summary: A canary meets a falcon. The love between them is... unusual, to say the least. Arles/Fem!Qiaon.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I know nothing about birds I made half this shit up lol.

我對鳥兒沒認識這裡有一半都是自己想出來的233。

Pairings include: Arles/Qiaon(main), Yuae/Gwan, Xiling/Bella, Yang/Qiaon(one-sided). Fem!Qiaon fic.

CP包括：洛喬（為主）、夜關、西蕭、陽喬（單向）。女喬小說。

* * *

 _The Magenta Canary is named after the island they reside in, Magenta Island. These small birds, unlike most other canaries, are varying colours of red, pink and gold. Anywhere else, their bright colours would make them a prime target for predators of all kinds, but due to the lush environment of Magenta Island, the vegetation of the island was in a state of ever-blooming. Fruits were produced all year around, and trees were constantly shedding their reddened leaves in favor of new, bright, ones. Magenta Island, cut off from the rest of the world, is autumn all year around._

* * *

The first thought that came to Qiaon's mind when Gwan was finally mated was, 'Good riddance, he's finally gone.'

The Magenta Canaries were a strange bunch. They, much like swallows, mated for life. Yet, any children they conceived will not leave the nest upon entering maturity. While male magenta chicks often leave their nest in search of mates, they- similar to female chicks- will not have a nest elsewhere until they have found another bird who they intend to spend the rest of their lives with.

Until then, however, the chicks will continue to share the nest with their parents, and their parents will not have another clutch until their current one have all been mated. Which was why Qiaon was so glad to be finally rid of the gold and purple canary. They nest in which they shared was big enough- it was built into the hollow of a tree, and had several layers- Qiaon could not leave the nest in search of food without having to pass through the section of th nest which was horded by her elder sibling who she did not get along well with at all.

"He was mated to a migrational bird who was just happening to pass by our island as well. Hopefully, the raven, or crow, or whatever he is, will take Gwan far, far away from here."

"Oh, Gwan's not so bad." Qiaon's younger sister, Bella, chimed from the small tunnel at the side of Gwan's part of the nest which led to hers as she watched Qiaon go back and forth from the nest, dumping the leaves that their elder sibling used to nest in and out of the tree from the entrance before gathering a new bunch and throwing that out as well. "You just never made an effort to get along with him."

"Of course I bloody well didn't, ignorant git, he was. And now, he's gone. He won't be missed, not by me." Qiaon droned on, passing by Bella before watching as another pile of bright ruby leaves flutter towards the forest floor.

"Careful, sis." Bella bounced after her. "You'll never find a mate with that attitude." The tone she used was cheerful and light-hearted, but Qiaon could tell there was a hint of seriousness behind her teasing demeanor.

Qiaon knew what she was referring to. It had been several weeks after the siblings' maturity, and with Gwan mated, and Bella recently being courted by some swallow, Qiaon seemed to be the next in line to find herself a life partner. In fact, Qiaon had been courted numerous times before; she was pretty, with soft, white down, bright red feathers coating her body and splendid golden flights that lined up the sides of both her wings- she was rather desirable, appearances wise. Yet, all this was overshadowed by her nature- she was brash, outspoken, never one to sugar coat her words, often one to speak her mind, regardless of others, and ignorant to their offence taken. She happens to be quite the slob, always placing and misplacing her items in an ungodly disordered way. And while Qiaon isn't the dimmest among the canaries, she solemnly realizes that she isn't as bright or as knowledgeable as others would expect one of her age to be. And Qiaon understands that her prettiness does not make up for even half of her flaws which had turned so man of her potential mates off.

Her tail fathers twitched in agitation at the thought. "Well," she huffs, turning to face Bella. "Well! Perhaps I shan't be mated, then! Perhaps I will leave and make my own nest at the top of that old, crooked tree which everyone believes to be jinxed, and live there, on my lonesome, while the other birds can tell their own chicks to 'hush, hush' when they ask, 'Mommy, daddy, isn't that tree jinxed? Why does anyone live there? Is she a witch?' Perhaps I shall stay, mateless, for the remainder of my life-"

She stops abruptly when she notices the sad look on Bella's face. She feels guilty, but Qiaon couldn't help it. She gets so heated and angry whenever this topic was brought up. Maybe she's jealous. Maybe she's lonely. Maybe it's both.

"I know, Qiaon." Bella says," I know you're upset about this, and have been for a long time. Perhaps you believe no one can see you other than your flaws, and perhaps you believe that because of them, you think it's only just that you end up mateless. But dispite all that, you deserve someone who will love you for you." Qiaon was about to argue, but Bella raises her voice. "No, stop. It's nothing less of the truth. Because underneath all that brassness and carelessness, you have a good heart. Despite how much you may dislike Gwan, you and I both know if he was really in need, you would let him share your nest until he could get back onto his two feet. Mother and Father know this, too, and they would agree that you deserve nothing less of happiness."

Bella pauses for a moment, hopping next to Qiaon, letting what she'd said sink in. The slightly smaller canary leaned against her elder sibling, her body radiating warmth. "Ma and Pa aren't having another clutch after us, you know." She continued. When Qiaon's eyes widened questionably, Bella simply shrugged. "Between you and Gwan's bickering, the two of you barely had time left for your parents." She explained. "Our parents are old, Qiaon. They've decided they will soon leave this nest, in search of one on the perimeter of the island to live the rest of their lives in peace and quiet, and they may not be able to wait until you've found your mate, Qiaon." At this, Bella smiled and looked up at her. "Oh, or perhaps I'm worrying for not. Perhaps you'll find someone who complements your crazy; or someone who balances you out. Perhaps, you'll have found your mate by then."

* * *

Qiaon had not found her mate 'by then'.

Three weeks later, Bella had moved out of their nest in order to search for a new one with her life partner. Four more weeks after that, her parents had moved out as well, in search for a quieter place.

Qiaon gripped the bark beneath her talons tightly as she watched her parents' departure. 'I won't cry.' She tells herself as she retreats back into the nest, now entirely too big and empty and hollow. She passes Bella's nest, noting that it seemed larger now that she had cleared out everything, the pile of soft leaves and twigs she used as struts for her nest were gone, as well as her collection of seeds. She crawls back into her own nest and falls onto it carelessly, not caring if she'd knocked over a few supporting struts causing the nest to spill out on one side.

'God damn it.' She covers her head with one of her wings. She feels so pathetic. It's not like she hasn't tried her hardest to seem appealing to the other canaries, but she knows she's everything that no one was looking for in a mate. 'Maybe it's not too early to consider nesting on that old, crooked tree, after all.'

She sighs, and is surprised when she suddenly hears the patting of rain against the tree, and feeling a slight sway as the winds rocked the branches to and fro. The nest is usually noisy enough that it drowns out whatever's happening outside, and the thought just sends another pang of loneliness inside her.

'Perhaps this is for the best.' She thinks, then, 'I pity the fool who has to be saddled with me-'

She jumps when a sudden harsh sway nearly knocks her out of her nest. She gasps at the movement and hears the soft pitter of rain instantly turning into a loud, thudding noise. A storm.

'I hope the tree, or any surrounding ones, don't collapse.' Qiaon frowns, 'Mateless and nestless, just what I need-'

She was interrupted as something huge crashed in through the roof of her nest. She shrieked, and lunged herself towards the opposite side of the hollow before the huge thing could crush her. She couldn't say the same for the pile of leaves which were now scattered about in a mess.

Shaking from shock, she slowly inches away, towards the small tunnels connecting the different layers of the nest as she watched the unknown figure heave and fall critically. Already, rain was seeping down in from the large den created, and the writhing form in her nest seemed to be soaked wet with rainwater- whatever it is.

Not that Qiaon wanted to find out. Even from where she was standing, the canary can safely assume that it was easily three times her size- she was lucky that she saw it fall when she did- she would have undoubtedly be crushed to death by such a huge thing. Just as she nears her escape, though, the figure lets out a loud groan, then stands, the leaves previously covering the majority of its form fell in small chunks from its body, and Qiaon was immediately paralyzed with terrible fright-

Because standing there, in the safety of her own nest, was a great blue falcon, its sharp beak seemingly glinting in dim light, its wings that were tipped white evidently wide even while folded, and its claws- oh god, those deadly, hooked claws and its strong talon with a grip hard enough to break her wings-

Then, it turns its head towards her, and Qiaon lets out a small sound of fright. 'Oh god, I am dead.' She thinks, as the falcon observes her small, trembling form. 'I'm food. I'm going to be eaten.' She stumbles backwards, and trips over her two small legs as the bigger avian straightens itself. Then, she watches as the blue falcon opened its beak, and a voice spoke;

"Uh, hi."


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh, hi."

Qiaon gawked at the larger bird as it spoke, beak hanging open, her tiny body still shaking in fright at the obvious predator that had just crashed straight into her nest right in front of her. After a short moment of silence of the two birds doing nothing but just staring at each other, the larger of the two seemingly came to the conclusion that Qiaon hadn't understood him, as he shifted uncomfortably, and tried again;

"Ni hao?" he tried, and Qiaon must have gave him a funny look, as he spoke in yet another language, "Uh… Bonjour?"

"No, no." Qiaon interjected, suddenly realizing how silly their exchange must have looked. "I- I can understand you just fine." She shifted her weight, alternating between her two legs timidly. "And please don't eat me." She added quickly.

The predator actually looked baffled. "What? No, I wasn't going to-" He stopped abruptly when the red canary squeaked in fear and pressed herself further into the wall of the nest as he gradually began to straighten himself and stood to his full height. A brief glance upwards told him that he had apparently fell through the giant crater in the ceiling, and a quick look back down at the other bird made him realize how big he must seem to the canary.

The falcon immediately bowed and lowered his form. "Sorry," he spoke in a hushed voice, "I- I didn't mean to-" he jerked his head in the direction of the hole, causing Qiaon to look up with him, "-fall through there, and scare you." He paused slightly, before added, "And I won't eat you. I promise."

That seemed to lessen the smaller bird's worry. "You promise?"

"Yeah. I promise I won't eat you."

"O-okay." The canary breathed, slightly relaxing. "I- I trust you."

The falcon appeared surprised. "You trust me? Just like that?"

"Yes." Qiaon said, though she was still slightly on edge being in such a close proximity to a predator. "I- this island. Sometimes, migrational predators visit. Eagle- and falcons, you can reason with. You can trust, if they give you their word. Hawks and vultures- you can't." She explained, albeit less than elegantly.

"Oh, that's good." The falcon said, relieved that the canary wasn't as terrified of him as she had been several moments ago. Qiaon watched as she shook off the remaining leaves clinging to his body, shuffling and ducking away from the water drizzling down from the roof.

"Your wing." She chirped suddenly, noticing how it wasn't as neatly folded to his body as his left one. "Is it okay?"

"Hm? It-" the large bird winced as he attempted to flex his right wing. "Oh, that. I think it was sprained when I fell through. It doesn't feel like anything's broken, so I think it'll be fine in a few weeks… Again, sorry about your nest."

"It's okay. Qiaon tapped her talons gently. "I won't be staying long anyways. Hopefully."

"No? I thought- isn't this your nest?" The falcon asked, perplexed.

"I mean, not really. Kind of." Qiaon fluttered. "It's my parents' nest. They left earlier. Once I find a mate, I'll leave, too."

The larger bird tilted his head at this. "If you don't mind me asked- Why aren't you mated? You seem nice. Kind- hearted."

The canary stiffened at this. "I… I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

"is it because of the way you speak?" At Qiaon's shocked expression, the falcon elaborated. "I just happened to notice. When you speak, you tend to talk in short durations, as if your thoughts keep on interrupting you."

"It- I-" Qiaon stuttered. "I guess, yeah, that's one of the reasons. I suppose. I sound dumb."

The falcon frowned. "One of the reasons?"

The canary twitched nervously. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. "Yes. And, uh. "She looked around, signaling the falcon to do the same. "Yeah." She murmured. "A mess."

"Of course it's a mess?" The larger bird questioned. "I fell through the roof."

"No." She drew a quick line with her talon. "That. That there is your mess." This-" She stepped twice with her foot, "This is all mine."

"Oh." The falcon fell silent after that and quietly observed the rest of the nest, noting there were moss growing on the walls and… and was that fungi growing on some of the leaves of the den?!

"Yeah." Qiaon said solemnly, "So… I'm mateless."

The larger bird nodded wordlessly. They stood silently for a moment, with Qiaon visibly upset after their exchange, her body slumped in disappointment. Then, the falcon spoke. "Hey, perhaps I can help."

Qiaon looked at him, confused. "What?"

"Well, seeing as I won't be going anywhere in the near future-" He moved his sprained wing slightly, "-And I need a place to stay. Maybe I can give you some advice, if you would let me stay?"

The canary's mood brightened slightly as this. "You can help me?"

"It's honestly just about habits." The falcon shrugged. "My family raised me with such strict customs, I'm sure I can teach you something."

"And you'll help me?"

"In return for letting me stay, sure."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Qiaon lept up with excitement, temporally forgetting that the other bird was a predator. "I needed help- Thanks for much! I don't want to be mateless- that would be awful lonely- Oh, I can't wait! When do we start?" she hopped up towards the falcon, eyes wide with joyous expectation.

The blue falcon laughed slightly, amused. "Well- not now." He reasoned. "It's late, and I haven't slept in quite a while." He gradually began shuffling towards the wall, away from the hole on the ceiling, still seeping rainwater. The canary hopped away slightly, suddenly reminded of their size difference watching the flacon move.

"Oh." She flushed with slight embarrassment. "That's fair enough."

"We can begin tomorrow, at first light, it you'd like." The falcon grinned as he nestled against the side of the nest, yawning and making himself comfortable.

"Of course! I'd like that." The canary hopped up to him enthusiastically. "What shall we start with?"

The falcon eyed her, then looked up towards the ceiling, still dripping water.

"Isn't it obvious."

Qiaon flushed. "Oh." She said. "Of course. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then." She turned to leave, but the falcon called out to her.

"Wait."

Qiaon stopped, and looked back towards him. "Yes?"

The falcon actually seemed embarrassed. "Your name." He said, softly, "If you would. I'd… I'd like to know."

"Hm." The canary tensed, shifting nervously. She really shouldn't- Even if falcons may be trustworthy, she barely knew anything about him. But still- "Qiaon." She said, before she could stop herself. "My name. It's Qiaon."

The larger bird grinned- with genuine kindness and something else Qiaon couldn't quite place-

"Well, Qiaon." He said, "It's nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me stay in your nest. I'll see you tomorrow." Then, as if an afterthought, he quickly added, "Oh, and my name's Arles. If you were wondering."

"Okay." Qiaon's feathers puffed up in- contentment? Flustered embarrassment?- "I'll- I'll see you tomorrow, then, Arles." She said.


	3. Chapter 3

Arles had her collect two dozen twigs of the same length as the base for the new roof.

"Use your wing, silly." Arles had said when Qiaon protested that she wouldn't be able to carry more than two at the same time, and thus couldn't possibly measure the length of the twigs to make sure they were of relatively equal length. "You may not be able to remember the exact length of the twig, but the size of your wingspan will remain equal. Use it to measure and gauge how long the twig will be."

And so Qiaon had been flying several rounds from her nest and back to collect the pieces of sticks Arles had requested. When she made her last round, the falcon lined the twigs up to see that they were all roughly of an equal length- Three-fourths of Qiaon's own wingspan.

"Not bad." The falcon nodded his approval.

Qiaon fluttered in embarrassment at his praise. "Oh, thanks." She chirped, "Your advice. It helped me plenty. Thank you."

He grinned. "You're welcome. You tend to begin thinking of ways to make your nest gets damages weekly."

"It must be awfully windy then, where you live."

Arles shook his head. "No, it's not the wind. It's… it's…" Qiaon tilted her head, mildly curious what had the larger bird at a loss for words since they've met.

"I guess you can say it's rivalry." The falcon said, clicking hid beak, "There's always too little room, and too many birds wanting a place to roost."

The canary nodded in understanding, "I suppose that could happen. I have an elder brother. I don't like him much. I would fight him, too, if I had to share a nest with him."

The larger bird laughed at this. "Oh, I understand. It's hard to get along with your siblings- Who has the brighter eyes, who has the prettier feathers- and you don't necessarily get along with them because of that." He paused shortly, shooting the canary a helpful smile, "But family's still important in the end. After all, what can you do without family?"

Qiaon blinked. "Well, I like Bella alright. But I can do without Gwan."

Arles snorted in amusement. "Of course." He grinned, "Now, let's get back to the task at hand. Split the pile in two, and place them across the hole, one group in verticals, one group in horizontals."

The canary shot him a weird look. "Wouldn't it just be easier to put them all in the same direction?"

Arles rolled his eyes. "Technically, yes. But it's no good if you want a roof that could actually support weight. I was falling quite fast that night, I'll admit, but I shouldn't have been able to crash through into your nest like I did. And even so, I shouldn't have been able to take down nearly half the roof with me. If you build the roof with both horizontals and verticals, it'll do much better at weight-bearing." When the falcon finished and realized the smaller bird was just staring at him with a blank look, he sighed. "It'll make your roof less likely to collapse."

"Oh." Qiaon nodded. "Well, then I guess we can try your method."

She took one of the twigs in her beak and managed to hook one end into the side of the den, just below the gaping hole in the ceiling. Qiaon struggled with the second end.

"Here, let me help."

Arles stood and straightened himself, and _holy shit_ the falcon was a giant! The roof took Qiaon at least two down strokes to reach, but Arles could almost poke his head through the roof by simply standing. He helped Qiaon to get the stick into place by nudging it from below so it was about level to the end which was secured onto the wall, and letting the canary carry out the more delicate parts of their task. Working together, they got the base done by mid-noon.

"It's done- it's done!" Qiaon called down when they had finished; The pieces of stick stacked up, down and across, forming little checker boxes where Arles stood in the middle of the nest from the little shadows created by the sun. The canary stuck her head through one of the boxes, got caught slightly on the horizontal twigs as she tried to squeeze herself through, then plopped herself through on the boxes, and fell, rather clumsily, on top of the falcon's beak. As she began to slip off, the canary instinctively drew her talons up, attempting to grasp onto anything to support her weight. Feeling the shift in weight towards the tip of his beak, Arles tilted his head upwards, causing the canary to slide back towards the front of his head.

"Oof." Qiaon grunted as she collided against Arles' face, wings pushed against the sides of Arles' head, talons gripping the air at the sides of the falcon's beak.

"Hey." Arles smiled.

"Hey yourself." Qiaon smiled back.

Arles lowered his form and helped Qiaon slip back onto the floor. Her talons clutched around soft wood, and she looked up at the larger bird.

"I, um." Qiaon twitched, wings fluttering, "This is the longest- I think- conversation I've had with anyone. Besides my family, I guess."

Arles frowned as he watched the canary's form slump at this thought. "I don't understand." She continued. "I know I'm helping you- you need a place to stay- and you probably feel obligated to help me in return, but-" Her voice began to falter at this point, "But you don't have any reason to be so nice to me-"

"Hey, hey now." Arles said softly, his uninjured wing extended, running the white tips over the canary's form. "Don't say that. You're upset. Look- you're shaking…" He felt the soft trembling of the canary's form from his flight feathers.

"S-sorry. It's- it's just that- I get so sad-" Qiaon's voice cracked, and she trailed off into sobbing.

The falcon shifted awkwardly, hovering his wing above the smaller bird in long, comforting strokes. "Please don't cry?" He tried, "Crying doesn't suit you…"

When the canary showed no signs of stopping, he slowly tucked the smaller form under his wing. "I'm actually terrified of the sound of crying, you know?" He began, "When I was a chick, one day, one of my younger cousins had to share a nest with my family because theirs was damaged and inhabitable for the meantime." The falcon explained, "But it was a really bad season. Food was scares, and we often went to sleep hungry. That night, my younger cousin wouldn't stop crying because he wanted to be fed. He cried throughout the night, and nobody got any sleep." Arles shuddered at this. "It was horrific. Sometimes, I still have nightmares about being woken up to the sound of crying."

That startled an amused laugh out of the canary. "He cried so hard that you didn't get no sleep?" She asked.

The falcon chuckled himself, "No, not even a little."

"Aw. That's so sad." Qiaon sniffed, looking up at Arles, who shrugged.

"When you live with family, it happens. One must take the good with the bad."

"Well, he better have a real redeemable quality for you to say that after making you lose a night's worth of sleep."

"It made you laugh, didn't it?"

Qiaon snorted, bemused, "You're unbelievable."

Arles just grinned, "Feeling better now?"

"Yes, I suppose-" Qiaon sniffed several more times, "- I feel better now. Thanks."

"That's a relief." Arles sighed, "To tell you the truth, I've never comforted anyone who was crying before. You really scared me- I had no idea what to do."

"I heard you just hold them close and tell them nice things." The canary said, wiping away the last of her tears.

"The sun is shining and the sky is blue?"

Qiaon laughed, then squirmed out of from under Arles' wings. "Smartass."

Arles huffed, and was about to speak when a loud rumbled interrupted him. Qiaon heard it, and she gave him an incredulous look.

"S-sorry." He ducked his head, embarrassed. "I haven't eaten in quite a while…"

* * *

"There she goes- must be awfully lonely, huh? Being an empty nester?"

Qiaon scowled at the canaries roosting on a branch slightly above her. She's always hated leaving her nest, her reputation leading her to be teased mercilessly by others of her kind. She minimized her outings by only leaving when she was in need of food, but since Arles couldn't leave her nest due to his broken wing, she would just have to scavenge and bring what she found back to him. Currently, she has a bunch of berries clutched under her beak. She had no time for these clowns. She turned to leave.

"Oh? Is it something we said? Gonna go stuff your face with food again?" Qiaon's tail twitched in agitation.

"Oh, leave her alone! You pesky things!" Bella yelled at the trio of canary, landing next to Qiaon. Somewhat startled, she looked behind her and saw Bella's mate- a barn swallow- Xilling perched just slightly away from them. Apparently, he's earned the reputation of being quite ruthless to anyone who displeases his mate, as the canaries blanched visibly.

"Whatever, dude." One of them said.

"Let's get outta here." Another said, and they hastily departed in a flutter of wings.

"Qiaon." Bella said as she hopped closer. "I was getting worried. After I moved out, we've barely seen each other. I haven't moved far, but we don't seem to run into each other whenever we leave our nest-"She stopped, noticing the berries.

"You've never bought back any food to the nest." Bella stated, curious, "What happened?"

Qiaon frowned. She couldn't quite possibly tell her younger sister she's been hosting a natural predator in her nest, could she?

Bella's gaze hardened at Qiaon's silence. "Qiaon. Is something wrong?"

Qiaon shook her head.

"Alright." Bella seemed skeptical, but she didn't push the issue. "Alright. Fine. But if there's anything- anything at all-" She stepped her food as emphasis, "- You tell me. It isn't healthy, the way you're keeping entirely to yourself. So if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know you can come to me. Alright?"

Qiaon stared at her younger sibling, feeling guilty that she couldn't possibly tell Bella what in fact was going on. But in the end, she relented, and gave her a short nod.

Partial compliance was better than no compliance, she supposed.


	4. Chapter 4

"Gosh." Arles chocked, "This tastes horrendous."

Qiaon glared at him, and he visibly tensed, obviously intimidated by her gaze- one would have thought size would have something to do with intimidation- and coughed nervously.

"I'm sorry?" He apologized. "It tastes great."

Qiaon snorted. "Thanks for the lie." She said, "But lying doesn't suit you. You obviously didn't like the berries or other fruits I brought you."

"No, I really didn't." Arles shrugged, "Though I didn't expect myself to. It wasn't something I was used to eating, but I didn't want to starve." He paused slightly, "I'm not sure if it'll be enough to feed me for several weeks more…" He finished quietly.

Qiaon frowned. "Is… is there something I can…" She trailed off, suddenly thinking twice about offering help to quench the falcon's hunger, whose diet most likely included small critters including but not limited to small birds such as Qiaon herself…

"Hey," Arles started, sensing Qiaon's unease. "It's okay. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, alright?"

Qiaon twitched nervously. "I suppose so." She said, "There's not much we can do at the moment, is there?"

Arles shook his head no. "Not really," He answered, then tilted his head upwards. "I like what you did with the roof, though."

Qiaon looked up with him, and saw the neatly packed leaves of red, yellow and brown hanging protectively over them. She'd took some time to gather leaves and fill the gaps up, finishing the roof up while doing a little interior decorating as well. The leaves blocked out the majority of sunlight, but little threads of light managed to slip through the gaps, illuminating the nest slightly and causing the leaves to glow, as if they were some sort of enchanted glasswork.

"Thanks." She chirped, "I made it pretty, just for you."

"Aww, thank you. Don't I feel special."

Qiaon smiled, and hopped closer, snatching the berries out from under the larger bird. Arles had the gall to look hurt.

"What?" The canary asked, feigning innocence, "You weren't going to eat it. Didn't mommy ever tell you 'Waste not; want not'?"

The falcon huffed, "More than you know."

The smaller bird winced, remembering Arles' story from earlier on how they had to go to bed hungry. "I'm sorry. That was really inappropriate of me, to make that joke."

"No, it's okay. I like your humor." The falcon shuffled towards the entrance to perch next to the canary. "Actually, there was something I had been meaning to ask you."

Qiaon gave him a look. "Really?"

"Really."

"I thought it was supposed to be the other way around- you know- when we made our arrangement."

Arles scoffed. "Do you _want_ it to be? Because it doesn't have to be. You've lived here for your whole life. Compare that to me- who had just happened to come crashing in yesterday- one would think you're bound to know more about this place than me, wouldn't you?"

"Oh. " Qiaon said softly, then raised her voice after a slight pause. "Yes, I suppose- Sorry, you just seemed so knowledgeable-" She shook her head, stopping her weird tangent. "Alright- what was it that you wanted to ask about?"

Arles shuffled closer to the edge and jerked his head downwards. "What's down there?"

"Leaves. Some branches as well."

Arles snorted to stifle his laugh. "Very funny." He said, "But I'm serious. I know that's not the ground- just a really thick layer of leaves because I've seen some of your kind often poke their heads in and out of there- but what is it? What's down there?"

Qiaon looked down. A light breeze caused the leaves to shiver and sway, creating several waves, as if a sea of crimson and gold.

"That's the canopy layer." Qiaon explained. "You're right about it being a thick layer of leaves, but it's not just that. Most of our food grows in this area. That's why we nest here- good sunlight, easy food source, great breeding grounds."

"Where- where's the ground, though?"

"Under the canopy layer. We call it the forest floor."

"And what's down there?"

There was a long, sullen pause. "You really don't want to know what's down there."

Arles frowned. "Is it that bad?"

There was a long, stretching silence, with the two birds just watching the golden waves rolling before them.

"Yes." Qiaon finally whispered. "It was." And she began recounting past events.

* * *

 _Qiaon was awoken when Gwan kicked her out of her nest._

" _Get up." The elder canary said in a hushed voice._

" _What?" Qiaon groaned," What do you want?"_

" _I'm not going to repeat myself. Get up, go get Bella, and meet me outside. I'll get our parents." Gwan urged._

" _If this is some sort of prank…" Qiaon warned, but her elder brother had already scurried away. Huh. That was new. She scrambled away from her nest- sleep still plaguing her mind- and hopped clumsily towards Bella's nest._

" _Bella?" She called, when she couldn't see her. She looked around the den. "Bella-"_

 _She stopped abruptly when she saw Bella's small form pressed tightly against the side of the den. It was dark, but the red canary could still see the light tremors and the shivering of her younger sibling's pink and azure feathers. She was about to call to her, but Bella placed the tip of her flight feathers against her beak- a common gesture for 'keep quiet'._

 _She tilted her head questioningly, as Bella's eyes met hers. In response, Bella jerked her head towards the other side of the den. Qiaon followed her gaze, but saw nothing out of the ordinary._

 _Then, she heard it- a light 'Rtaptaptaptaptaptap' against the walls- the red canary snapped to full alertness instantly._

 _This wasn't good. They had to get out immediately._

 _Her eyes met with Bella's against, and this time, she quietly mouthed the words 'Come here', urging her younger sister by making a beckoning gesture with her wing. The younger of the two got the idea, and shuffled silently towards her._

' _Come on, come on, come on…!'_

 _The walls broke apart with a loud crack. Bella shrieked, and Qiaon watched in terror as sharp front teeth dug once more into their nest and tore out more of their den, the canary even hearing the haunting chirping as those teeth continued to tear into the nest-_

 _She grabbed one of Bella's talons with her own. "Don't just sit there!" She hissed, pulling Bella along. "Let's go! We have to get out of here!" After the first few steps, Qiaon's younger sibling got over her initial shock, and hurried with Qiaon to the nest's entrance, the sounds of breaking wood growing louder behind them. Gwan met them outside on the branches with their parents._

" _What took you so long?" Gwan accused Qiaon when the two siblings finally caught up to him. "Did you fall back asleep?"_

" _I did not!" Qiaon snapped back, just as angry. "You should have told me what was going on! There was one just there-"_

 _A loud shriek followed by a series of clicking sounds interrupted them. Bella whimpered in fright and ducked behind them as the two elder siblings turned towards the sound. Qiaon breath hitched audibly, and Gwan cursed. Creeping from the entrance of their home was a large, four-legged creature with terrifying black fur and long front teeth, clicking as its head twitched._

 _Everyone knew about these predators. They resided and ruled the territory under the canopy layer- the forest floor. Their fur as dark as the realm they hail from. These creatures- the Preyers, they were called- feasted upon flesh. Sometimes, in the cover of night, they would creep up towards the canopy layer. Using their sharp teeth, they dig holes and dents into their nests, killing and eating them within their own homes and oh god-_

" _They don't have eyes." Qiaon whispered, clearly distressed by the scene playing out in front of them._

" _That's just a myth." Gwan whispered back. "They do have eyes. It's just that it's all pupil, and blends in with the colour of their fur."_

" _Really, really bad time to be a smartass, Gwan."_

 _The Preyer echoed her statement by letting out a piercing screech before scrambling along the branch, darting up towards them in a mad dash. Gwan foresaw this, and pushed Qiaon and the rest of his family towards where the branches began to split into twigs._

" _Go to the coast! They won't follow us there!" Gwan screamed, and both Bella and their parents took to the air. Qiaon cast them a quick look, but lingered backwards towards Gwan._

" _What are you doing?!" Gwan hissed at her, stilling facing the Preyer- its form was too big and bulky to continue its ascend towards the twigs, but it still remained determined, front paws clawing and grabbing at any straws it could to hold its weight- the twigs beneath them heaving and falling as it climbed. "Don't pass go- See Bella and our parents safely to the coast!"_

" _What are_ you _doing?!" Qiaon shot back, just as fierce. "You can't just stay here- You'll be rat food! Let's go!"_

 _Another heave of the branch threatened to throw the both of them off. "I'll catch up." Gwan grunted as he regained his balance- the Preyer inching closer by the second- "I have to- Flair, I can't just leave without knowing she's safe-"_

" _Not at the cost of your own life!" Qiaon argued, even though she knew it would do little to sway Gwan's mind. Flair was important to Gwan- almost like another little sister- and Qiaon knew her elder sibling could not, in good conscience, just leave her be._

" _I'll manage." Gwan gritted out. Then, with a final fall and heave, the Preyer deemed that it has crept close enough, making a bold leap towards the two canaries. Gwan's keen eyes caught its movement and, riding the upward momentum of the branch, flew over the large form of the predator as it fell, Qiaon following suit, quickly fluttering off the twigs as she watched the Preyer fall through, still screeching, before it disappeared into the depths below._

" _Gwan!" She called out, losing sight of her elder sibling in a blur of leaves, feathers and fur. The red canary panicked for a fleeting moment, before recalling their conversation earlier._

 _She had to reach Flair's nest, too. She wouldn't want Gwan's death on her talons._

 _It took much longer than she would have liked to reach her destination- to Qiaon's chagrin- she had to dodge other fleeing canaries, and several Preyers on her way, taking long detours as she wasn't quite willing to risk her own safety just yet._

 _As she neared, though, Qiaon was greeting with the sight of a retreating Preyer, with a mouthful of white feathers and foam._

'Oh, no.'

" _Oh my god! Gwan!" Qiaon cried as she flew into the den. "Gwan! Gwan-"_

" _Don't look!" Gwan's voice called out from deeper in the den, and Qiaon's gaze was drawn towards its direction before she could stop herself. In response, Gwan puffed himself up, and used his uninjured wing to block Qiaon's gaze. "Gods damnit Qiaon! I said don't look!"_

 _But Qiaon had- for a fleeting moment- caught sight of the scene before Gwan's wing could fully fan out; The sight of Flair's small form, chest heaving and falling unsteadily, along with the ruffled, broken feathers on the base on her left wing, where something sharp had stabbed into the fragile joint, bent, broken and bleeding-_

 _Qiaon looked away, suddenly feeling faint._

* * *

"She fell ill shortly after." Qiaon said softly. "It's probably because when the Preyer bit her- it might have been venomous, or their saliva were laced with toxic." Qiaon's form shrunk slightly at the thought. "Gwan tried to help, but she didn't get better, and then- her feathers turned grey." Qiaon sniffed. "She died two days after. Gwan might have blamed himself- I think- but he was hurt, too, when he attacked the Preyer's eyes and made it flee. It wasn't his fault that the Preyers were toxic."

"It's not." Arles agree solemnly, "I- gods, I'm so sorry that happened."

Qiaon nodded. "He got better, thought. He's still sad, about- about what happened, but not as sad as he'd been-"

"He's moved on?" Arles offered.

A nod. "Yes, that's it. He moved on."

Arles gives her a small smile. "That's good to hear." He said. "Qiaon- Thanks for telling me about this. It must have been hard for you."

"It's- it's okay." The canary murmured. "I mean, it's not a nice thing. I haven't even told Bella, she found out herself. I don't know why I told you."

Qiaon glanced up when she saw the larger of the two birds close its left wing around her. "Well, I'm glad you did, either way." Arles grinned. "You need someone to talk to. You can't keep everything to yourself. And I'm happy to listen, whenever you want."

The two birds looked back towards the open sky, where the setting sun had lit the clouds ablaze. Qiaon slowly leaned against the larger bird. "T-thanks." She said, quickly, softly, uncertain if the falcon had heard, but a quickly look at the larger bird beaming answered her question.


End file.
